Forbidden City & Dongcheng Central
Formerly the Grand Hotel du Pekin (c 1917), this debonair old institution celebrates the golden age of travel in its showpiece marble staircase, glittering chandeliers and polished 1920s dance floor in the Writer's Bar. Local operator NUO took over from Raffles in 2016, enhancing the food offerings but leaving the period features intact. Avoid the characterless newer wing at the rear.
It's easily confused with NUO's sister hotel near the 798 Art District, so check the address carefully.
1 MILES
Enclosed by 3.5km of citadel walls at the very heart of Beijing, the Unesco-listed Forbidden City is China’s largest and best-preserved collection of…
1.96 MILES
An oasis of methodical Confucian design, the 267-hectare Temple of Heaven Park is unique. It originally served as a vast stage for solemn rites performed…
9.48 MILES
A marvel of Chinese garden design and one of Beijing's must-see attractions, the Summer Palace was the royal retreat for emperors fleeing the suffocating…
0.7 MILES
Flanked by triumphalist Soviet-style buildings, Tian'anmen Sq is an immense void of paved stone (440,000 sq metres, to be precise) at the symbolic centre…
1.73 MILES
Beihai Park, inside the old Imperial City, looks much as it would have done in the 18th century when it served as Emperor Qianlong's private gardens. The…
1.48 MILES
This immense fortress, part of the Ming City Wall Ruins Park, guarded the southeast corner of Beijing's city walls. Originally built in 1439 but repaired…
0.63 MILES
Instantly recognisable by its giant framed portrait of Mao, and guarded by two pairs of Ming dynasty stone lions, the double-eaved Gate of Heavenly Peace …
6.75 MILES
Contemporary art meets communist history at this thrilling enclave of international galleries installed within China's model factory complex of the 1950s…
0.27 MILES
Monolithic shopping malls face each other across this prestigious avenue thronged with mostly out-of-town tourists. The late-20th-century Chinese…
0.29 MILES
This historic entryway is all you can see of the palatial former British Legation, now home to China's Security Bureau. It was where most of the…
0.41 MILES
This inactive Tibetan Buddhist temple can't be entered, but the elevated square in front, which forms part of a small park, is a peaceful little escape…
0.42 MILES
In Beijing's Former Legation Quarter, this grey brick building served as the French Post Office in the early 20th century. It was recently a Sichuan…
0.42 MILES
The imposing red gateway here, bearing a passing resemblance to the Arc de Triomphe, belonged to the French Legation. The two Chinese lions flanking the…
0.43 MILES
Within the former Legation Quarter is this wonderfully gothic church, established in 1901 to serve the neighbouring Former French Legation and meet the…
7. Former Yokohama Specie Bank
0.43 MILES
Built after the Boxer Rebellion in 1910, this is one of most impressive western-style buildings in the Former Legation Quarter. It's now home to the China…
0.46 MILES
Following the Second Opium War in 1860, one of Britain's treaty demands was for permanent diplomatic digs in Beijing, hence the Legation Quarter, a three…